Basics of Cognitive therapy in

Psychosis

Presenter

Dr. Jay Rao M.B., B.S, D.P.M., M.R.C.Psych (U.K.), F.R.C.P (C)

Developmental Neuropsychiatry

Associate Professor

University of Western

PGE Director, Developmental Disabilities Division

Physician Leader, Dual Diagnosis Research & Treatment

Program

Consultant, Central West Specialized Developmental Services

Consultant, Central west Network of Specialized Care

Consultant, Dual Diagnosis Service, Specialized Mental Health

Care, Grand River Hospitals.

Board of Directors, OADD/Chair, Publications Committee,

Journal Of Developmental Disabilities

Acknowledgements:

Neil A.Rector PhD1, AaronT. Beck

(Can J Psychiatry 2002;47:39–48)

and

A Therapist’s Guide to Brief Cognitive

Behavioral Therapy. Department of

Veterans Affairs South Central

MIRECC, Houston. To request a copy

of this manual, please contact Michael

Kauth at michael.kauth@va.gov

Suggested citation: Cully, J.A., & Teten,

A.L. 2008.

Session 1

Orient the Patient to CBT. Assess

Patient Concerns. Set Initial Treatment

Plan/Goals.

Session 2

Assess Patient Concerns (cont'd). Set

Initial Goals (cont'd)

Technique :

Maladaptive Thoughts, Behavioral

Activation, Problem Solving,

Relaxation

Session 3

Begin/Continue Intervention

Techniques

Session 4

Re-assess Intervention Techniques

Session 5

Refine Intervention Techniques.

Session 6

Intervention Techniques.

Session 7

Intervention Techniques. Discuss

Ending Treatment and Prepare

Maintaining Changes.

Session 8

End Treatment and

Help Patient to

Maintain Changes.

Cognitions

Cognitive events

Cognitive processes

Cognitive structures

Cognitive Events

Thoughts

Images

Day dreams

Dreams

Automatic thoughts

Automatic Thoughts

Occur automatically

involuntarily

repetitive

autonomous

Patient makes no effort to elicit them

Difficult to “turn off”

Evaluative cognitions or “hot cognitions”

self-referential, negative

Non-evaluative cognitions or “cold cognitions”

Cognitive Process

Errors in the recognition

processing

of information

“Cognitive appraisals”

Attention

Encoding

Retention

Cognitive Distortions

Are distortions in the processing of

information

Selective abstraction

Arbitrary inference

Overgeneralization

Magnification/exaggeration

Dichotomous or polarized thinking

Mind reading

Personalization – extent to which a particular

event is related to one’s self (overestimation)

In making judgements under uncertainty

people have great confidence in their fallible

judgement and have difficulty searching for

disconfirming information to test hypotheses

Ordinary people rely on a limited number of

heuristics, which sometimes yield reasonable

judgements and sometimes lead to severe and

systematic errors.

What distinguishes ill people is the fact

that several types of dysfunctional

cognitive appraisals occur together in

clusters and in a significantly higher

frequency of situations than in ordinary

people.

Interacting Cognitive Subsystems

Meaning based

• Propositional-logical & verbal

• Implicational-generic,immediate,vivid

Sensory/proprioceptive

• Signals arousal

• Anxiety,anger,depression,withdrawal

Pattern recognition

• Matches experiential patterns

• Matches events through associations

Implicational subsystem

Propositional system

A threatening event in current life reawakens memory of past traumatic event in the form of voices

This results in physiological arousal, anxiety, panic, depression because of the awakened pattern implying the event is happening now

Instead of activating logical awareness that the traumatic event happened a long time ago, that it is not happening now, that one is safe now.

Cognitive Structure or Schema

Basic assumption, belief system, core construct, concept,

meaning structure

Systems for classifying stimuli

Relatively enduring aspects of cognitive organization

Used to label, classify, interpret, evaluate, assign

meaning

Making inferences about situations that are not as yet

observed

“ a complex pattern which is considered to

be assimilated by a person through

experience. In combination with an object

how the object is recognized and how a

new interpretation is formed” (English &

English, 1958)

Dysfunctional

Schema

Person

Situation

Selective abstraction

Personalizing

Arbitrary inference

Unattended stimuli

Goals of Cognitive

Psychotherapy To help patients to become aware of their most

fundamental dysfunctional assumption or dysfunctional life rules and help them recognize the cognitive distortions that sustain these dysfunctional self-images

Correct cognitive distortions

Restructuring self-scheme and therapeutically guided recollection of the development of dysfunctional meaning structures

Principles of Individual Therapy

1. Therapeutic relationship

2. Collaborative empiricism

It is important in an early phase that the

patient is given the opportunity to learn

the most elementary principles of therapy

and to understand what is expected

3. The Problem Inventory and Goal Setting

Various symptoms count as problems

use rating scales (self-rating)

Characteristics of the Cognitive

Psychotherapeutic Dialogue

Use of the Socratic Method

The main aim is to refine the patient’s

CAUSAL MODEL

and refine his/her PREDICTIVE ABILITY

Hypotheses are derived through Socratic

method and are subjected to verification

through further deductive questioning – home

work assignments

Barriers to Participation

Passivity and lack of structure to the day

Absolutistic and enmeshment

Dysfunctional thinking

Procrastination

Task Interfering thoughts

Breaking Passivity and Structuring the Day

Distancing

Absolutistic relativistic and flexible

Dealing with Dysfunctional Thinking

• Use of Socratic method

Procrastination and Task-Interfering Thoughts

• Cognitive Rehearsal: relate through visualization

anticipated difficulties and how to overcome them

• Making lists of pros and cons of carrying out

certain tasks

• These focus on relatively superficial problems,

suitable in initial phases

Recognition of Cognitive Distortions

• Pin-point a trying situation

• Record feelings and thoughts related to it

• 3 – 4 column technique

• Corrections using Socratic method

• Experiments to understand distortions

validity

• Approach a “less important” distortion first

• When learning has occurred, apply to the

distortions of a paranoid dimension

Predicative Thinking

• Premature assignment of meaning

Egocentric Over-inclusiveness

• Inability to keep responses to the external

world separate from the fantasy processes

that are going on at the same time

• Includes a much greater number of objects

(stimuli) that that really belong to a given set

DELUSIONS

DIMENSIONS

1. CONVICTION: EXTENT TO WHICH THE PATIENT IS

CERTAIN OF THE VALIDITY OF THE

DELUSIONS.

2. EXTENT: DEGREE TO WHICH THE DELUSIONS

INCLUDES DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE PATIENTS

LIFE.

3. SIGNFICANCE: THE BELIEF’S IMPORTANCE IN THE

PATIENTS OVERREACHING MEANING SYSTEM.

4. INTENSITY: THE DEGREE TO WHICH IT PREVENTS

OR DISPLACES MORE REALISTIC BELIEFS.

5. PERVASIVENESS: THE EXTENT TO WHICH THE PATIENT

IS PRE-OCCUPIED WITH THE DELUSIONS.

GOALS DICTATED BY DELUSIONS.

INTERPRETS DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES

ON THAT BASIS.

6. INFLEXIBILITY: DEGREE TO WHICH THE BELIEF IS IMPERVIOUS TO

CONTRARY EVIDENCE, LOGIC OR REASON.

CONTENT

**** REFLECTS EVERYDAY CONCERNS SUCH AS BEING DEMEANED,

EXCLUDED, MANIPULATED AND ATTACKED.

**** REFLECTS PATIENTS PRE-DELUSIONAL BELIEFS.

EX: RELIGIOUS, PARANORMAL, GRANDIOSE, PARANOID

**** EXTREME END OF A BELIEF CONTINUUM RATHER THAN

CATEGORICAL ABNORMALITY.

COMMON COGNITIVE CHARACTERISTICS

EGOCENTRIC BIAS:

PATIENTS BECOME LOCKED INTO AN

EGOCENTRIC PERSPECTIVE

IRRELEVANT EVENTS BECOME SELF-RELEVANT

EXTERNALIZING BIAS:

INTERNAL EXPERIENCES ARE ATTRIBUTED

TO EXTERNAL AGENTS

INTENTIONALIZING BIAS:

MALEVOLENT AND HOSTILE INTENTIONS

ARE ATTRIBUTED TO OTHER PEOPLE’S

BEHAVIOUR

EXAGERRATED SELF-SERVING BIAS

BLAME OTHERS WHEN THINGS DO NOT GO WELL

COGNITIVE THERAPY OF DELUSIONS

GOAL: DELUSIONS AS HYPOTHESES ABOUT THE MEANING

OF EVENTS RATHER THAN AS ABSOLUTE, RIGID

“TRUTHS”

MEANS: UNDERMINE THE RIGID CONVICTION AND

CENTRALITY OF THE DELUSION

THE PROCESS

1. UNDERSTAND THE PATIENTS LIFE CONTEXT

IMPORTANT PAST LIFE EVENTS

THEIR APPRAISAL

2. ASSESSMENT PHASE:

= PRE-DELUSIONAL BELIEFS THROUGH

DAY DREAMS, FANTASIES.

= PROXIMAL EVENTS CRITICAL TO

THE FORMATION OF THE DELUSION

= CURRENT EVENTS TRIGGERING DELUSIONS

SPECIFIC TRIGGERS

EXTERNAL

INTERNAL

SPECIFIC CONSEQUENCES

EMOTIONAL: FEAR,ANGER,SADNESS

BEHAVIOURAL: WITHDRAWAL

AVOIDANCE

CONFRONTATION

EDUCATION

= COGNITIVE MODEL

= LEARN TO IDENTIFY LINKS BETWEEN

THOUGHTS

FEELINGS

BEHAVIOURS

THOUGHTS, FEELINGS

BEHAVIOURS

LEARN THE ROLE OF COGNITIVE BIASES

DISTORTIONS:

MAGNIFICATION

SELECTIVE ABSTRACTION

COLLOBORATIVE, SOCRATIC APPROACH

* INITIALLY DEAL WITH INTERPRETATIONS AND EXPLANATIONS

THAT ARE MORE PERIPHERAL

QUESTIONING:

WHAT LEADS YOU TO BELIEVE THIS IS LIKELY?

WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE THAT SUPPORTS THIS?

WHAT ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATIONS?

VISUALIZE AND DESCRIBE THE PEOPLE AND EVENTS

BEHAVIOURAL EXPERIMENTS

TEST THE ACCURACY OF INTERPRETATIONS

HALLUCINATIONS

CONTENT OF VOICES IDENTITY OF VOICES

EXTERNALLY ATTRIBUTED NEGATIVE THIOUGHTS

FORM THE CONTENT

AGENT OF THE VOICE IS PERCEIVED AS

POWERFUL, CONTROLLING AND ALL-KNOWING

FIRST

IDENTIFY, TEST AND CORRECT DISTORTIONS

IN THE CONTENT OF VOICES

SECOND

IDENTIFY, QUESTION, AND CONSTRUCT ALTERNATIVE

BELIEF ABOUT THE VOICES’ IDENTITY, PURPOSE

AND MEANING.

THOROUGH ASSESSMENT OF FREQUENCY

DURATION

INTENSITY

VARIABILITY OF VOICES

TRIGGERS

VOICES MORE LIKELY IN THE CONTEXT OF

INTERPERSONAL DIFFICULTIES

NEGATIVE LIFE EVENTS

INTERNAL CUES

USE THOUGHT RECORD

GET VERBATIM ACCOUNT OF THE VOICES

RELATION BETWEEN SITUATIONAL TRIGGERS

MOOD STATES

ACTIVATION OF VOICES

ELICIT BELIEFS PATIENT HAS ABOUT VOICES

ASSESS LIFE CIRCUMSTANCES DISTAL AND PROXIMAL

TO THE ONSET

PRECEDING EVENTS

TRIGGERS

ASSESS PATIENTS REACTION TO THE VOICES

UNCONTROLLABILITY

DEMONSTRATE THAT THEY CAN INITIATE,

DIMINISH

TERMINATE

OMNIPOTENCE

OMNISCIENCE

SET UP EXPERIMENTS THAT WILL DEMONSTRATE

THAT THE PATIIENT CAN IGNOIRE COMMANDS

WITHOUT CONSEQUENCES

PARALLEL RECORDS

THOUGHT

RECORDS

VOICE CONTENT

RECORDS

DEMONSTRATE OVERLAP

Cognitive Therapy for Schizophrenia: From Conceptualization to

Intervention Neil A.

Rector,

PhD1 , Aaron

T. Beck,

MD2

Objectives: To outline the cognitive understanding of symptoms of schizophrenia, such as

delusions, hallucinations, and emotional withdrawal, and to review the cognitive therapy approach to ameliorating these symptoms. Method: We identified studies examining cognitive factors associated with symptoms of schizophrenia by electronic search (using Medline and Psycinfo). This paper integrates

experimental findings and clinical treatment. Results: Recent studies focusing on the psychological aspects of schizophrenia demonstrate the importance of common cognitive biases and distortions that are functionally related to the maintenance of symptoms. Understanding the disorder in cognitive terms provides a

framework for psychotherapeutic intervention. Adapting cognitive strategies successfully used in cognitive therapy of depression and anxiety provides an important adjunct to standard treatment of schizophrenia. Conclusion: Given that the outcome of current treatment for schizophrenia remains poor,

attention to therapist training in psychological approaches is essential.

(Can J Psychiatry 2002;47:39–48)